It is common in telecommunications systems to rely on signal cables and connectors to provide optical and electrical connections between equipment which cannot be connected via backplanes.
When connecting multiple chassis together such as connecting multiple service routers to form a combined service router, a problem arises wherein a very large number of signal cables and other cables between the two or more chassis must be routed correctly. Connection involves connector placement at a port on a first chassis, then routing of the interconnecting cable to a second chassis, and finally connector placement at a port on the second chassis.
Modern network equipment may utilize a plurality of these connecting cables. For example, the Alcatel-Lucent 7050 XRS-40 uses a total of 112 interconnecting optical cables between two equipment shelves mounted in racks, where the racks may be separated as far as 100 meters from each other. Proper placement of these connectors can be prone to errors due to the sheer quantity of connectors which have to be placed. Errors in connector placement can be very costly in terms of time and equipment problems. As such connections are typically made in the field at a customer site, time is often of the essence and connection problems may only compound other installation issues.
At present, optical cabling terminations may be color-coded, numbered or otherwise identified to assist in the interconnection process. This solution is insufficient due to the enormous number of cables involved in some chassis to chassis interconnections. Further, in the event a complex color-coding or numbering scheme is employed, the issue of spare cables arises with attendant problems of color-coding and/or numbering these spares.
More expensive solutions include embedding an RFID tag in each optical cable terminating point/connector, wherein the RFID tags are processed to ensure appropriate connection. This solution is very cost intensive and requires specialized equipment as well as modifications to cables, connectors, and chassis.
Therefore, there exists a need to overcome the drawbacks associated with avoiding improper connector placement methods as discussed above.